Ethan let out a sigh of relief. His injuries were completely healed. He was not dead yet.
But the god of death was still very much at his doorstep. He could hear the sound of the wolf's claws still scratching at the entrance of the burrow. The damn thing was relentless.
And his surroundings were still the same. He was trapped inside this burrow with just a single entrance/ exit, that was now guarded by a rabid sadistic wolf.
Was there any chance he could actually kill this thing or even harm it enough for it to let him escape?
Ethan thought about it and sadly he could only shake his head.
Nope. There was simply no way.
The thing was insanely strong.
Now that he thought about it, he remembered seeing more notifications after the level up.
He wondered if he could see those again and immediately a bunch of notifications popped up in front of him.
[Ding! You have reached the limit of your summoning capacity. The other beast souls have been released]
[Ding! Level up!]
[Lvl 1> Lvl 2]
[Ding! You have gained five stat points]
[Ding! Your summoning capacity has been upgraded]
"I knew it." Ethan's heart rate sped up. He wasn't a noob to video games and seeing the term 'level up', he had a feeling how this system worked.
Stat points essentially meant more power. If he was correct, then he should also have a status screen?
Once again, another screen popped up in front of him as soon as he thought about it.
[Ding! Status Screen]
Name: Ethan Rutgard
Age: 16
Class: Unshackled Summoner (SSS-grade)
Rank: F
Titles: Hidden Class Awakener
Health: 100
Mana: 100
Strength: 10
Agility: 8
Constitution: 7
Intelligence: 6
Wisdom: 7
Free Attributes: 5
Core Skill 1: Marked by the Unshackled Summoner (Passive): All beings killed by you are yours to summon.
Core Skill 2: Summon (Active) Consumes the required mana to summon a bound being.
Bonded beings: Green worm, Small spider, Small Spider, Small Spider, Small Spider
***
Ethan stared at the screen in a daze. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. SSS-grade? Hidden class? Did he really reincarnate in another world with an overpowered class?
His lips curled upwards but then he remembered the first five animals he had bonded with. He could only let out a wry chuckle.
Whatever. There was always time to improve that. For now he had to focus on more important things. For instance, the damned thing wanting to have a big juicy bite of him, waiting right outside for him. Quite impatiently he might add.
Yup. He needed a creature like that. Ethan clicked his tongue. That wolf would be a good starter beast. What could he possibly do with worms and spiders as starting beasts? Well, it was not like he could do anything either.
Wait, maybe he could kill more of these insects to get another level up. Wouldn't that put him at level 3? A lot more closer to level 5.
Ethan quickly looked for another spider web mess that he could smash and gain more experience. His eyes scanned the dimly lit burrow, the tangled webs hanging around him.
He couldn't help but let out a half-hearted chuckle. Here he was, in another world, an SSS-grade Unshackled Summoner, and yet his best strategy right now involved killing tiny spiders to level up.
"Every hero's gotta start somewhere, right?" he muttered to himself as he moved carefully along the dirt wall, his hand reaching for another cluster of webs.
His fingers brushed against a delicate strand of silk, and immediately, several small spiders scurried out, instinctively moving to protect their nest.
"Sorry little guys, but I need to get stronger."
With a swift motion, he crushed the spiders under his palm.
[Ding! You have killed a small spider.]
[Ding! You have gained experience points.]
[Ding! The entity small spider has been added to your summoning list.]
The glow of the notifications flashed before him in quick succession as more spiders met the same fate.
[Ding! You have killed a small spider.]
[Ding! You have gained experience points.]
[Ding! The entity small spider has been added to your summoning list.]
This time he was able to kill about ten spiders before the limit reached notification popped up. Unfortunately, he was yet to level up.
"Damn it." Ethan punched the dirt wall in frustration, his fist connecting with a dull thud.
"Damn it," he muttered again, clenching his fists. He needed something stronger, something that could actually give him a boost in both power and experience. His eyes drifted back to the entrance of the burrow where the wolf still continued its hacking and clawing along with threateningly loud snarls.
He then looked at another spider that was skittering past his foot. So tiny. So helpless.
And then it struck him.
Spiders weren't really that helpless now, were they?
It was not for nothing that spiders were one of the most feared insects back home. They were icky. They gave everyone the creeps but more importantly there were many many varieties of poisonous spiders.
Ethan's eyes widened as the idea took root in his mind. Maybe the ones that he had 'tamed' could be one of these deadly poisonous types? Was there anyway he could check this information?
He quickly willed for more information about the spider to pop up.